Helloworld Limited is no longer holding discussions with the privately held travel services company AOT Group Limited regarding the potential acquisition of AOT by Helloworld.

Helloworld issued a statement yesterday saying it had been unable to reach agreement with the AOT shareholders on acceptable terms and as a result has terminated discussions “with immediate effect”.

Helloworld confirmed a couple of weeks ago it was in talks with AOT. AOT’s chief executive Andrew Burns is a major Helloworld shareholder, owning 10.21% of the company.

The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column first reported the Helloworld/AOT talks, and Helloworld at that time told the Australian Securities Exchange the evaluation of the potential acquisition was still in progress.

Yesterday, Helloworld said the terms of the transaction would have resulted in the vendors of AOT becoming significant minority shareholders in HLO [Helloworld].

“The Board of HLO has unanimously concluded that the strategic and financial merits of the acquisition on the terms proposed were insufficiently compelling to warrant proceeding with the transaction.

“HLO remains focused on its existing strategy and is making strong progress to future proof its business and drive returns for shareholders, agents, industry partners and consumers.

“The search process for appointing a new CEO is ongoing and HLO will update the market in due course.”

Helloworld chief executive Elizabeth Gaines announced her decision in June to step down and will do so in December unless a replacement is found before then.